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Russian diplomat claims immunity over car bill

May 29 2011, 7:28am, The Times

A Russian diplomat who allegedly drove a rental car into a river in New Zealand has reportedly claimed diplomatic immunity to avoid paying a $NZ10,000 (£4,950) bill.

Valery Martynov, Russian Embassy first secretary, who is based in the New Zealand capital of Wellington, had rented a Ford Focus from the Hertz office in the southern city of Invercargill while on holiday in April last year.

Several days later Mr Martynov called the rental car office, complaining that the vehicle was “leaking and had failed”.

When a mechanic checked the car on behalf of Hertz it was reported to have had major damage consistent to being driven through a river, according to court papers quoted by the Dominion Post newspaper.